Sen. Cardin Will Vote Against Gorsuch Nomination to Supreme Court
(Democrat - Maryland)
03/28/17"I am greatly troubled by Judge Gorsuch’s record. His extensive legal record is peppered with examples of putting corporate interests before working Americans, showing hostility to agency decisions that protect our environment, disregard for women’s health, marginalizing students with disabilities and many more troubling decisions. While he said little of substance at his confirmation hearing, Judge Gorsuch’s record shows clearly why he was a choice candidate of the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. Despite his protestations, his record points to a jurist who has not separated his political views from his legal views. I do not believe that he would serve as an independent check on this president, who has tested the limits of the Constitution and the separation of powers in a way that no other modern president has done. Our next Supreme Court Justice can serve for a generation and have a profound impact on the lives of all Americans for decades to come. By recklessly blocking a vote or even a hearing on Merrick Garland, the Republican leadership has inflicted lasting damage on the Supreme Court and the independence of the federal judiciary, while diminishing the powers and duties of the Senate. Unlike Judge Garland, who was considered by almost all independent judicial scholars as mainstream, Judge Gorsuch does not enjoy a similar evaluation. For these reasons, I cannot support Judge Gorsuch’s nomination.”

Sen. Durbin On Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination
(Democrat - Illinois)
03/28/17"In this context, the Senate cannot simply rubber stamp a lifetime Supreme Court appointment for the president. Neil Gorsuch is the man Donald Trump urgently wants on the Supreme Court. That should give many Americans pause, and it certainly gives pause to me. I cannot support the nomination of Neil Gorsuch. I will vote no when his nomination comes before the Judiciary Committee next week, I will vote no on cloture, and I’ll oppose his nomination on the Senate floor.”

Sen. Hirono to Oppose Nomination of Neil Gorsuch
(Democrat - Hawaii)
03/27/17“The real focus and the real heart of this decision lies in the struggles that working families, women, differently-abled, people of color, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, students, seniors, and our native peoples face every day,” Senator Hirono said. “These are the everyday Americans who will be impacted by the decisions a Justice Gorsuch would make. The central question for me in looking at Judge Gorsuch and his record, in listening carefully through three days of hearings is whether he would be a Justice for all, or only a Justice for some. I do not believe Judge Gorsuch meets this test. I will oppose his nomination, and I will oppose it every step of the way. I urge my colleagues to do the same. This is simply too important for the future of America and its values.”

Sen. Franken: I Will Vote No on Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch
(Democrat - Minnesota)
03/27/17"Last week, Judge Neil Gorsuch appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to not only explain his record and his judicial philosophy, but to convince the Senate that he would be the right choice for this incredibly important position," said Sen. Franken. "Although I came into the hearings skeptical of Judge Gorsuch, I was willing to listen, ask questions, and to do my job as a member of the Committee. Based on those hearings, I am going to vote no on Judge Gorsuch's nomination. He has an extreme record on everything from corporate accountability and workers' rights to women's health, and I fear that as a Supreme Court justice he will guarantee that the highest court in the land continues to favor powerful interests over the rights of average Americans. I'll say this again: at this moment in our nation's history, we need a Supreme Court justice who has earned a reputation for working to build consensus-someone like Merrick Garland, who, although rightfully nominated by President Obama, was treated disgracefully by Senate Republicans and denied a hearing and a vote. Judge Gorsuch is not a consensus nominee like Merrick Garland and he should not be confirmed. If given a spot on the Court, he will pursue an ideology that I believe has already infected the bench-an ideology that backs big business over individual Americans."

Sen. Bill Nelson will No on cloture and on confirmation of Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination
(Democrat - Florida)
03/27/17“Deciding whether to confirm a president’s nominee for the highest court in the land is a responsibility I take very seriously,” Nelson said in a statement. “Over the past few weeks, I have met with Judge Gorsuch, listened to the Judiciary Committee’s hearings and reviewed his record with an open mind. I have real concerns with his thinking on protecting the right to vote and allowing unlimited money in political campaigns. In addition, the judge has consistently sided with corporations over employees, as in the case of a freezing truck driver who, contrary to common sense, Judge Gorsuch would have allowed to be fired for abandoning his disabled rig during extreme weather conditions. I will vote no on the motion to invoke cloture and, if that succeeds, I will vote no on his confirmation.”

Sen. Reed to Vote No on Judge Gorsuch for Supreme Court
(Democrat - Rhode Island)
03/24/17“I will not support Judge Gorsuch for the highest court in the land. After carefully examining his judicial record and listening to his testimony, I believe he is a poor choice for the United States Supreme Court.... The Founders’ original intent was never for corporations to become more powerful than citizens. Under a Justice Gorsuch, companies could increase their influence over our elections. Judge Gorsuch has a propensity for ruling against workers in labor and employment disputes. In the so-called “frozen trucker case,” he twisted a statute to insist that a trucker stranded in sub-zero conditions should have been fired for seeking safety. ... Many of Judge Gorsuch’s legal decisions are based on an overly narrow view of our laws. Indeed, during his hearing, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected his legal theory that would have gutted the Individuals with Disabilities Act (“IDEA”). ... During his hearing, and in our meeting, he repeatedly declined to answer even basic questions. ... Judge Gorsuch has a not-so-hidden agenda. His record as a judge shows he repeatedly used concurring and dissenting opinions to go well beyond the facts of a case to make broad, ideological statements.... I will vote no on cloture and no on his nomination.”

Sen. Whitehouse says he will not vote to confirm Gorsuch for Supreme Court
(Democrat - Rhode Island)
03/24/17Sen.feels he "gave Judge Gorsuch every chance" during the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, "and indeed pressed him and pressed him on the issues I think are the dominant ones and I came away dissatisfied ... [and] am not in a position to vote for his confirmation." Whitehouse cited his concern with reinstating a Republican-appointee majority on the court that, when the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was alive, "issued so many partisan 5-to-4 decisions ... whose results really became so disheartenly predictable. And the second was some sense that the flood of money into politics after Citizens United has had an evil effect on our democracy."
"I wanted at least some signal or sense from him that he saw these as legitimate public concerns. I am not sure I needed him to go as far as fully agreeing with me, but I really couldn't get anything out from behind his screen of platitudes,"

Sen. Heitkamp discusses Gorsuch & filibuster with ND Editorial Bd
(Democrat - North Dakota)
03/24/17Heitkamp also signaled some openness to Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, who testified before lawmakers this week. Heitkamp said in a Thursday statement that she is still reviewing his nomination.
Asked about Gorsuch on Friday, Heitkamp praised his familiarity with tribal sovereignty and public land issues, and pointed out his willingness to curb federal agencies' discretion interpreting the law. Despite some Democrats' indication that they might be willing to filibuster Gorsuch's confirmation, Heitkamp pointed out that a vote to end a filibuster and to confirm Gorsuch are two separate things. The political will among Democrats might not be strong enough to keep a filibuster in place, she said, even if it might be strong enough to keep support for Gorsuch to less than the necessary 60 votes.

Sen. Patty Murray will oppose Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court and filibuster him if necessary.
(Democrat - Washington)
03/24/17“Senate Republicans refused to do their job and refused to hold a single hearing. Second, since taking office two months ago, President Trump has demonstrated complete disregard for law, the U.S. Constitution, and the best interests of American families. He continues to try and force through an un-American, unconstitutional ban on Muslim refugees and immigrants, and he fired an acting attorney general when she refused to compromise her legal judgment in order to conform to his demands. That chaos, coupled with the cloud of an FBI investigation into the president and his associates, has led me to the conclusion that I cannot trust that President Trump is acting in the best interest of our country or our democracy and that I cannot support moving forward with his choice for the Court. I would certainly hope that Republicans don’t change the rules to break the long and important precedent of demanding a 60-vote threshold for lifetime appointments to the highest court in the land. If a nominee can’t get 60 votes, you shouldn’t change the rules, you should change the nominee,”

Manchin cautions on Gorsuch filibuster
(Democrat - West Virginia)
03/23/17“That’s not what the Founding Fathers decided for this body. This body’s a very unique body, a very deliberate body, supposed to be the teapot cooling the tea off,” Manchin said.... for Manchin, who said he’s “not a big filibuster guy to begin with,” Gorsuch should get an up-or-down vote unless a lawmakers has an actual, strong concern about him.
“How do you preserve the Senate? How do you preserve the input that the minority should have? Because what goes around comes around,” he said.... for Manchin, who said he’s “not a big filibuster guy to begin with,” Gorsuch should get an up-or-down vote unless a lawmakers has an actual, strong concern about him.
“How do you preserve the Senate? How do you preserve the input that the minority should have? Because what goes around comes around,” he said.Manchin said Democrats should be concerned with whether he’s too far right or center-right.
“Well, he’s replacing Antonin Scalia, who is very, very conservative. So you can look at it evaluate it — well, is he more nontraditional or more conservative than Antonin Scalia? If he fits in the same wheelhouse, then you can [look at the] justice saying, ‘That kind of fits the same parameter as who he’s replacing.’”
Couric suggested that “given that parameter,” it sounded as though Manchin planned to vote “yes” on Gorsuch.
“Let’s just say I’m a very open-minded person,” he replied.

Sen. Casey: The Nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch
(Democrat - Pennsylvania)
03/23/17"I ... have serious concerns about Judge Gorsuch’s rigid and restrictive judicial philosophy, manifest in a number of opinions he has written on the 10th Circuit. It is a judicial philosophy that employs the narrowest possible reading of federal law and exercises extreme skepticism, even hostility, toward executive branch agencies.... It is little wonder that corporate special interests on the right placed Judge Gorsuch’s name on a list of litmus-tested judges from which they demanded the President choose his nominee.... the Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Roberts, has become an ever more reliable ally to big corporations. ... Judge Gorsuch’s record indicates that he would only exacerbate this problem and further stack the deck against ordinary workers and families.... Judge Gorsuch has a particularly troubling record when it comes to enforcing legal protections for individuals, particularly students, with disabilities. ...he Supreme Court issued a unanimous 8–0 ruling repudiating a previous opinion Judge Gorsuch wrote concerning the rights of a disabled student.... Judge Gorsuch reversed these rulings, going beyond precedent to articulate the narrowest possible interpretation of the federal law .... I do not believe Judge Gorsuch’s judicial approach will ensure fairness for workers and families in Pennsylvania.... I will not support his nomination."

Sen. Kamala Harris: Why I cannot support Judge Gorsuch
(Democrat - California)
03/23/17"President Trump’s nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, certainly has a paper resume that would impress legal scholars. But his rulings repeatedly have failed to achieve justice for all Americans.... The rest of Judge Gorsuch’s record also shows he’s willing to favor corporations over the American people. He believes companies can impose their religious views on employees and deny women birth-control coverage. And he has been hostile toward federal agencies that protect American workers and consumers.... Judge Gorsuch has consistently valued narrow legalisms over real lives. I must do what’s right. I cannot support his nomination."

Sen. Schumer: Democrats will filibuster Gorsuch nomination
(Democrat - New York)
03/23/17Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s pick to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, faced a critical blow on Thursday as Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would join with other Democrats in attempting to filibuster the nomination .... “If this nominee cannot earn 60 votes — a bar met by each of President Obama’s nominees, and George Bush’s last two nominees — the answer isn’t to change the rules. It’s to change the nominee,” he said.... Schumer said that Gorsuch “was unable to sufficiently convince me that he’d be an independent check” on Trump. He said later that the judge is “not a neutral legal mind but someone with a deep-seated conservative ideology. He was groomed by the Federalist Society and has shown not one inch of difference between his views and theirs.”... Gorsuch “declined to answer question after question after question with any substance. . . . All we have to judge the judge on is his record,” Schumer said.

Sen. Sanders Opposes Gorsuch
(Independent - Vermont)
03/23/17Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement: "Americans deserve a Supreme Court justice who respects the rights of workers to be treated fairly instead of bowing to big business. We cannot stand by while the court dismantles the Voting Rights Act and lets cowards in statehouses erect roadblocks to voting. We must keep campaigns free of the corrupting influence of big money and not go further down the dangerous path that began with the disastrous Citizens United ruling. We cannot risk a court that would put in jeopardy the privacy rights of all Americans and a woman's right to control her body. I had looked forward to Judge Neil Gorsuch sharing his views on the Supreme Court’s critical role on some of the most important issues in America. Instead, he refused to answer legitimate questions and brought the confirmation process to a new low in a thick fog of evasion. After careful consideration of Judge Gorsuch’s record, I have concluded that I will not vote to confirm him to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and I will not support Republican efforts to change the rules to choke off debate and ram the nomination through the Senate."

Sen. Durbin Letter to the Editor: Gorsuch showed his true values with his ruling on the 'frozen trucker' case
(Democrat - Illinois)
03/23/17"Maddin’s position was ruled on by seven different administrative and court judges. All but one judge ruled against the trucking company. That one judge was Gorsuch.... he 10th Circuit majority noted that Judge Gorsuch cherry-picked one dictionary’s definition to favor the company. Other dictionaries, and the law’s purpose of protecting health and safety, favored Maddin.... we can only look at his record in deciding whether he should be given a lifetime appointment to the highest court of the land.... Every judge brings values to the court and in close, hard cases those values can tip the balance on the meaning of the law or the facts before the court.
Al Maddin was more than just an unlucky truck driver. He was a hardworking American entitled to justice in our courts."

Sen. Durbin: Gorsuch Lowered The Bar For Rights Of Students With Disabilities: Chief Justice John Roberts Releases Ruling Rebuking Judge Gorsuch During His Hearing
(Democrat - Illinois)
03/22/17During the hearing, the Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts, unanimously ruled that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ standard for what educational benefit a school is required to provide students with disabilities is inconsistent with the law. ... Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion specifically notes that “[w]hen all is said and done, a student offered an educational program providing ‘merely more than de minimis’ progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all.” According to the National Education Association’s analysis of 10th Circuit jurisprudence in IDEA cases, Judge Gorsuch established the “merely more than de minimis” standard in a 2008 opinion.
“Why in your early decision did you want to lower the bar so low to ‘merely more than de minimus’ as a standard for public education to meet this federal requirement under the law?” asked Durbin. “The difference in this case is about a word. We know that words are important, and they can make a critical difference in a person’s life…The word that you inserted into the Circuit standard, when it came to these cases, was ‘merely.’ I would say most people reading that would say you have pushed the de minimus statute even further down the standard pole.”

Sen. Bennet introduces Neil Gorsuch at Supreme Court nomination hearing
(Democrat - Colorado)
03/21/17"The Senate’s failure to do its duty with respect to Judge Garland was an embarrassment to this body that will be recorded in history and in the lives of millions of Americans .... I consider Judge Gorsuch as a candidate to fill the Garland seat on the Supreme Court. And out of respect for both Judge Garland and Judge Gorsuch’s service, integrity and commitment to the rule of law, I suggest we fulfill our responsibility to this nominee and to the country by considering his nomination in the manner his predecessor deserved, but was denied.... there’s a second cloud that hangs over this confirmation hearing. It is President Trump’s reckless attacks on the judiciary.... I believe Judge Gorsuch is unquestionably committed the rule of law.
Mr. Chairman, it is customary for senators to introduce nominees from their home state, and I’m not here today to take a position or persuade any of our colleagues how to vote.... I am keeping an open mind about this nomination and expect this week’s hearings will shed light on Judge Gorsuch’s judicial approach and views of the law."

Sen. Hirono Grills Gorsuch Over His Refusal to Answer Direct Questions: Presses Supreme Court Nominee on Workers’ Rights, Trump Administration Actions, Citizens United & Hobby Lobby Decisions
(Democrat - Hawaii)
03/21/17“We’ve sat here for close to 10 hours now and you have not told us your understanding of cases already decided by the Supreme Court except to say they are law and precedent. You have not told us your view of cases currently before the court. And you will not tell us your view on issues that might someday be presented to the Court,” Senator Hirono said. “In fact, you have provided us less in the way of answers about how you would approach cases than previous nominees to the Supreme Court. So how should we divine what you would bring to the Supreme Court in terms of your judicial philosophy? By looking at your judicial record? By looking at your writings? I see a pattern that is very much on par with the Roberts Court’s steady march towards protecting corporate interests over individual rights.”

Sen. Franken’s Statement on Start of Judiciary Committee Hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch
(Democrat - Minnesota)
03/20/17"Over the next few days, Judge Neil Gorsuch will explain his record and his judicial philosophy before the Senate Judiciary Committee. I look forward to learning about the approach he would take as a Supreme Court justice to really important issues, including women's health and workers' rights. But I will say that I'm skeptical of Judge Gorsuch. I fear that if he's confirmed, he would guarantee that the highest court in the land continues to favor powerful interests over the rights of average Americans. This pivotal moment in our nation's history calls for a nominee who has earned a reputation for working to build consensus-someone like Merrick Garland, who, although rightfully nominated by President Obama, was treated disgracefully by Senate Republicans. Judge Gorsuch's record suggests that he's no Merrick Garland. If confirmed, I'm concerned that he will put forth an ideology that I believe has already infected the bench-an ideology that backs big business over individual Americans and refuses to see our country as the dynamic and diverse nation that my constituents in Minnesota wake up in every morning."